Personalized

Another Hatmaker day.  Today she suggested we personalize a scripture passage and insert 'I' and 'me' where appropriate and read it out loud to ourselves to make it really hit home.  The passage is Ephesians 2:11-22.  What a great passage to take personally!

"Don't forget that I, as a Gentile, used to be an outsider.  I was called an 'uncircumcied heathen' by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts.  In those days I was living apart from Christ.  I was excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and I did not know the covenant promises God had made to them.  I lived in this world without God and without hope.  But now I have been united with Christ Jesus.  Once I was far away from God, but now I have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.
For Christ himself has brought peace to me.  He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us.  He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations.  He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups.  Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and my hostility toward others was put to death.
He brought this Good News of peace to me, who was far away from Him, and peace to the Jews who were near.  Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us."

Oh how I love vs. 12 and 13: I lived in this world without God and without hope. But now I have been united with Christ Jesus. Once I was far away from God, but now I have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.

What would it really be like to live in this world with out this hope and being far away from God?